Children Orphaned After Parents Die From Homemade Alcohol on Train Journey

A tragic wave of alcohol poisoning has left eight people dead in Russia’s Krasnodar region after consuming homemade chacha purchased at a local market. Authorities have launched a criminal investigation and detained two women suspected of selling the toxic drink.

Family Members Among the First Victims

The initial report listed three victims, all relatives. A local resident confirmed that the deceased were his mother, grandmother, and brother. One woman who also consumed the chacha remains hospitalized.

Death Toll Rises to Eight

The number of confirmed poisoning cases later rose to eight. Among the deceased were two women from Chelyabinsk, who died after returning home and being hospitalized. Doctors were unable to save them.

Tragedy Strikes Family from Komsomolsk-on-Amur

A married couple from Komsomolsk-on-Amur also died after drinking the contaminated alcohol during their return journey from a vacation in Sochi. 35-year-old Daria and her 37-year-old husband Maxim were traveling with their two daughters, aged 13 and 4, on a train to Moscow when they tried the chacha.

According to the couple's older daughter, her mother disliked alcohol and only had one or two shots before falling ill. Daria was removed from the train and hospitalized in Rossosh, where she later died. Her husband initially felt fine and refused hospitalization, but soon slipped into a coma at a hotel. He was later transferred to a hospital in Voronezh, where he died nine days after his wife.

"My mother never liked alcohol. She had one or two shots and then started feeling very sick." – Daughter of the victims

Children Left Orphaned

The couple's daughters spent several days with acquaintances in Moscow before their grandmother flew in from the Russian Far East to care for them.

Arrests Made, Market Continued Operating

According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, two women from Krasnodar Krai have been detained in connection with the sale of the fatal alcohol.

"Preliminary investigation shows the suspects sold homemade alcoholic beverages at the Kazachy market." – Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs

Shockingly, the Kazachy market where the toxic chacha was sold remained open for another week after the first fatality, according to independent media outlet Baza.

Public Outcry and Legal Response

The incident has triggered public outrage and renewed debate over the sale of unregulated alcohol products in Russia. Authorities have opened a criminal case, and further arrests and inspections are expected as investigations continue.

Details

Chacha is a Georgian pomace brandy, clear and strong (ranging between 40% alcohol for commercially produced to 85% for home brew), which is sometimes called "wine vodka", "grape vodka", or "Georgian vodka/grappa". It is made of grape pomace (grape residue left after making wine). The term chacha is used in Georgia to refer to grape distillate. It may be also produced from unripe or wild grapes. Other common fruits or herbs used are figs, tangerines, oranges, mulberries or tarragon. Traditionally only a homedistilled drink of Georgians, it is today also commonly produced by professional distillers and most wineries who include it in their product range. The type and flavor of the different varieties of local chacha can differ depending on the region in which they are produced.